


Repetition

by DashFlintceschi



Series: Illnesses/Disabilities Alphabet Challenge [15]
Category: You Me At Six
Genre: Josh has OCD, M/M, Max sticks up for Josh, Mosh because Mosh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-25
Updated: 2014-06-25
Packaged: 2018-02-06 05:14:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1845631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DashFlintceschi/pseuds/DashFlintceschi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh has OCD, Max thinks he's cute. High school AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Repetition

**Author's Note:**

> O is for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Max is standing with his three best friends at Dan’s locker, when he hears a weird noise that makes him look round. Six lockers down, he spots a guy opening and locking his locker over and over.

“What the fuck is he doing?” He asks no-one in particular, and the three of them look around.

“Oh, that’s Josh. He’s alright, but no-one really talks to him. Everyone thinks he’s weird, ‘cause he’s got OCD. He has to open and lock his locker seven times before he can actually open the door. I tried being nice and talk to him, but he repeats the last word of every sentence he says three times, and it freaked me out,” Chris explains, and Max frowns.

Max gets his chance to talk to Josh during Maths, when their teacher gets fed up of everyone being so loud, and rearranges them in alphabetical order, and Josh ends up sitting between Dan and Max. Max turns and smiles kindly while Mr. Blair arranges the rest of the class.

“Hey, Josh, right?” He greets him, surprised at the timid look Josh gives him as he nods. “I’m Max, I guess we just haven’t crossed paths before,” he tells him, holding out his hand for Josh to shake, but he leans back and shakes his head.

“I don’t touch other people’s hands, hands, hands,” he mutters, and Max nods understandingly.

“Alright, no worries. You any good at this shit?” He asks, motioning to his Maths folder, and Josh nods.

“I like Maths, there’s repetition, it makes it easy, easy, easy,” he replies, and Max notices that when Josh repeats himself, he says it quietly, as if he’s scared someone will hear. Max realises that that’s exactly what Josh is scared of, as the girl in front of them turns around.

“Why are you even here, you freak? Aren’t there institutions for people like you?” She snaps, and Max gets angry as Josh looks down and starts twisting his fingers anxiously.

“At least he can get help for it, and maybe even overcome it, you’ll never stop being a fucking cunt,” Max snarls, and Josh looks up at him in surprise as the girl squawks in indignation and storms out of the classroom.

“No-one’s ever defended me before, before, before,” he mumbles, and Max smiles.

“Yeah, well, you’re pretty cool, and I hate that bitch. Any chance you want to help me figure this shit out?” Josh nods with a smile and pulls Max’s folder over so it’s between them, and Max’s grin widens as he notices Dan giving him an encouraging smile and a thumbs up behind Josh’s back.

At lunchtime, Max goes to his locker to grab his lunch before meeting Josh, as they’d agreed. As he’s digging around for it, he notices Dan walking past and catches his attention. When he comes over to Max’s locker, Max frowns at him in confusion.

“If you’re so happy about me talking to Josh, why haven’t you talked to him already?” He asks, and Dan frowns.

“I did try talking to him. I must be more intimidating than you, when I tried, the poor kid just kind of cowered away from me and wouldn’t talk,” he explains, and Max shrugs.

“Well, I’m having lunch with him, you should come with, he might talk to you now, if I tell him you’re nothing to be scared of,” Max suggests, and Dan nods.

“Sure, but if he’s still scared of me, I’m not going to stick around and terrify the poor guy,” Dan replies, and Max nods in agreement as he finds his lunch and they head off to the common room to find Josh.

Josh looks up when he hears two of the chairs at his table scrape back, and he freezes, his eyes wide, when he sees the massive, terrifying guy that kept trying to talk to him in Home Economics.

“It’s alright, he’s my best friend. I know he can look a bit scary, but he’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever known,” Max reassures him, and he nods warily.

“Do you want me to keep tutoring you once we’re done eating, eating, eating?” He asks softly, and Max shrugs.

“Probably not, I’m even stupider on a full stomach,” he laughs, and Josh frowns.

“You’re not stupid, it just takes longer for some people to understand this kind of thing, thing, thing,” Josh insists, and Max shrugs.

Dan can’t help but watch Josh curiously as he eats. As with everything else he does, he has a repetitive pattern to it. He has a sandwich, cut into four perfectly symmetrical triangles, and as he eats each one, he pulls the crusts off and crosses each pair as he sits them down on the table. Once he’s done with his sandwich, he produces a small tub of carrot sticks, and lies each of them on the table, lining them up with the same amount of space between them, and looking at them closely to make sure they’re all cut to the same length and width. Once he’s happy, he looks up as he lifts a carrot stick to his mouth, and pauses with a sad look in his eyes as he notices Dan watching him.

“Alright, go ahead and say whatever it is, is, is,” he mutters sadly, and Dan frowns.

“I wasn’t going to say anything, I was just curious,” Dan refutes, and Josh looks at him with hopeful eyes.

“You don’t think I’m fucking weird, weird, weird?” He asks, and Dan shakes his head.

“No. I think it’s a little odd, but that’s only because I’m not used to it. I’m fine with it, and I know I’ll think it’s perfectly normal once I get used to it,” Dan reassures him, and Josh ducks his head to hide his smile. No-one’s ever wanted to stick around to get used to his strange compulsions before.

It doesn’t take long for Max to ask Josh out, and his heart breaks a little at the stunned look on Josh’s face, especially with the words that follow it.

“I thought you were my friend, friend, friend. If you thought people haven’t pulled this joke on me before, you’re wrong, wrong, wrong,” he tells him sadly, and Max goes to grab his hand, but remembers at the last second that Josh doesn’t like touching other people’s hands, and grabs his elbow instead.

“It’s not a joke, I swear. I really, really like you,” he insists, squeezing Josh’s elbow apologetically when his eye twitches when Max doesn’t add another ‘really’. Josh looks at Max critically for a moment, and once he decides the sincerity in his eyes is genuine, he nods with a sigh.

“Sorry, a lot of people have pretended to like me for a joke, joke, joke. I should have known you wouldn’t, wouldn’t, wouldn’t. If you still want to go out with me, I’d love to, to, to,” he replies, and Max smiles.

“Well, they were cruel bastards, if you ever see any of them again, tell me and I’ll make them pay for hurting my boyfriend,” he insists, and Josh smiles, reaching out to take Max’s hand, but losing his nerve and flinching away at the last second. “It’s alright, I understand. Only do it if you feel comfortable,” Max encourages, and Josh grins, hooking his arm through Max’s instead.

Over time, with Max’s help, Josh manages to overcome the worst of his OCD. He easily and comfortably holds Max’s hand; he only repeats the last word of each sentence when he’s half asleep, or his emotions are getting the better of him; and he rarely opens and closes doors seven times before he can go through them anymore. He never stops being meticulous with his food, though, but that’s alright, Max thinks it’s cute.


End file.
